


Seventeen

by Lady_Paper_Writerson



Series: Birthday Bird [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days
Genre: Catatonic Jason Todd, Comfort/Angst, Gen, Jason Todd Birthday Week, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, jtbw2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 04:11:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20269813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Paper_Writerson/pseuds/Lady_Paper_Writerson
Summary: On Jason's seventeenth birthday, Talia has to make a bold, difficult decision.





	Seventeen

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! ^_^ Let us all wish Happy Birthday to our beloved Jaybird!
> 
> This is the first part of a series of small fics, all around Jason's various birthdays. Starting off today, at his official birthday.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Talia finds him outside again, at the edge of the cliffs over the sea. It seems to be one of his favourite spots.

She sits by him on the soil, cross-legged, and even though Jason gives no signs of acknowledging her presence there, Talia is certain that he notices.

“Hello, Jason,” she says, and places the two crystal plates and small forks she’s holding on the ground between them.

The boy doesn’t move at all. He remains stoic and expressionless, gazing at the horizon, his arms wrapped around his legs.

“This is called basbousa, in Egypt,” she explains, pointing at the two pieces of bright, golden cake with brown tops laying on the plates. “Namoura, in Syria. Revani or Ravani, in Turkey and Greece. A sweet cake, made of semolina, soaked in simple syrup. Sometimes it’s served with heavy cream, ice cream or nuts. It’s a very famous desert in the Eastern Mediterranean. I find it delicious.”

She untangles Jason’s arms from around his legs -he offers no resistance- and carefully places one plate and fork in his hands, before she takes the other for herself. “Eat, Jason,” she urges softly.

It takes him maybe half a minute, but he eventually uses the fork to take a bite. Talia eats half of her own piece, before she settles the plate back down and resumes in watching the boy. She has a sense that he likes the cake. Or, perhaps, it’s just her wishful thinking.

Talia can’t help herself. She raises one hand and runs her fingers through Jason’s black strands. He keeps eating, taking small bites, seemingly unaffected by the gentle touch.

“Today it’s August 16, Jason,” she says tenderly. “It’s your birthday. You’re now seventeen years old.”

She doesn’t expect a response. She can only hope that everything she does, everything she says, somehow registers to him. Jason’s silent presence has become a strange comfort to her, and she wishes he shares at least a little bit of that feeling.

They don’t have candles, and Jason isn’t in _that_ place just yet, so she makes a wish herself for him; to see him one day up and running again, in action, smiling, smirking, joking and laughing, vivid and full of life once more.

She is aware that her father believes her time spent over Jason to be a complete and total waste of time. He never skips letting her know about his own opinion, always being so utterly judgmental over this, since, needless to say, she vastly disagrees. To her, it’s a productive process. She categorically believes so. Jason _is_ better. So much better than the completely unresponsive, vegetative, malnourished boy that had been brought about a year ago. He now dresses himself, eats himself, and even bathes himself with little to no help. He listens to her when she reads to him, and he even touches the books, flipping through them. Even if he doesn’t actually read, the interest is clear. He’s stronger too, his reflexes faster, his moves cleverer… So, yes. Anyone truly interested, anyone _really_ looking would be able to confirm the progress. After all, it’s not like she neglects her little one over this. Her time with Damian is priceless, and she will never allow anything to stand in the way of their own communication.

As far as she’s concerned, Jason is Damian’s brother. A son her beloved chose on his own. One that he loved fiercely and tried to raise the best he could. Even if she hadn’t grown emotionally attached to the boy, she would take care of him, regardless.

Jason finishes, places the plate down next to her own, and returns to his previous position. Talia watches his moves. Slow, careful and coherent.

She lets her hand fall from his hair and her eyes fix away, over the golden waves of the sunset. It is not an easy day for her. She has a decision to make.

Tonight, is her one and only chance. She knows this, and still tries to gather up all her courage, strength and strategic thought in order to make this work, but only chaos rules in her mind. If she doesn’t even try, Jason’s automatically losing any chance of regaining himself once more, all progress Talia’s made with him turning into dust in the wind. He’ll be ripped away from her, probably never to be seen again, neither by her nor by Bruce. If, however, she does try, and she fails…

She suddenly curls an arm around him and does something for the first time; she hugs him close to her, holding his head at her shoulder, her lips lightly touching the top of his head as an abrupt wave of affection rushes through her over this poor, unlucky, savagely tortured soul. Just a boy that, long before adulthood, had been forced into coming face to face with most of the ugliest, filthiest aspects of this world.

“We have to try, you understand?” she murmurs, voice low in a dignified distress. “My sweet boy. We have to. Otherwise, all is lost.”

She sounds as if she’s apologizing in advance, and maybe she actually is. Jason remains still and calm in her arms… and then he _nuzzles_ at her. It’s brief, subtle, shy and timid, taking only a single second, but it _does_ happen, and it’s enough for her.

Talia holds him closer, and makes her decision.

Tonight, the Demon’s Head will not be the only one emerging from the Pit.

**Author's Note:**

> My Tumblr: [Lady Paper Writerson's](https://ladypaperwriterson.tumblr.com/)


End file.
